Woman charged with assaulting teen with drone

Associated Press

Madison — A 24-year-old Westbrook woman faces assault charges after confronting a teenager who she says was using a drone to film sunbathers at Hammonasset Beach in Madison.

A video posted on the website Photography is Not a Crime shows the woman striking the teen and ripping his shirt.

Andrea Mears was charged with third-degree assault and breach of peace after an investigation into the May 12 incident.

Seventeen-year-old Austin Haughwout told reporters he was using the remote-controlled drone to get footage of the landscape from about 50 feet above the beach.

Mears does not have a listed phone number and could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. She told television reporters that Haughwout struck her first. She is due in New Haven Superior Court on June 19.